Ireland

Irishman dies in Hawaii skydiving tour plane crash

The Hawaiian island of&nbsp;<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS';  line-height: 20.8px;">Kauai where the fatal crash occurred</span>
The Hawaiian island of Kauai where the fatal crash occurred The Hawaiian island of Kauai where the fatal crash occurred

AN Irishman was among five people who died when a skydiving tour plane crashed and caught fire in Hawaii.

The pilot of the small plane was named locally as Damien Jimmy Horan, from Tullamore, Co Offaly.

The incident happened on Monday morning on the island of Kauai.

Mr Horan, two skydive instructors and two tandem jumpers were believed to be onboard.

Four of them were pronounced dead at the scene while a fifth died later in hospital, local reports say.

Offally county councilllor Thomas McKeigue said the Horans were well known in Tullamore as a "friendly, hard-working and a very decent family."

"It's very tragic when a young person dies like this," he told the Irish Times.

"He was known as a very genuine, easy-going and talented young man."

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is providing consular assistance.

The plane was a single-engine Cessna 182H, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also working with officials to determine the cause of the incident.